Gardevoir
Gardevoir is Lily's first Pokemon and closest friend. She is the main character of the comic. Biography Early Life Gardevoir was bred by one of the last prolific Pokemon mills in the country in 1994 and sold to Lily's mother at a pet shop two years later. Though warned that Ralts were not intended to be children's pets, Lily's mother refused to heed the warnings and gave Ralts to Lily that year for Christmas. In spite of the warnings made by the pet shop owner, Lily took to Ralts like a new best friend rather than a pet and the two were inseparable after that point. Ralts followed Lily everywhere, and Lily refused to heed rules barring Pokemon from places like restaurants or schools. Because Ralts was so small and Lily so adamant, most people refused to fight her on it. Ralts and Lily's bond started to develop shortly after Lily started school, with the two able to feel each other's emotions. This manifested in Lily seeming to exhibit mood swings when she was feeling Ralts' mood. They also had a very rudimentary telepathic link, with the two able to communicate basic thoughts without speaking. Ralts evolved into a Kirlia four years later during an incident where Lily was being bullied by other children and three of them jumped on her and started attacking her. With her newfound strength, Kirlia was able to throw the children off of Lily and help her limp home. Because Lily was being bullied for always having Kirlia with her, Lily's parents suggested giving Kirlia away to which Lily refused emphatically. Kirlia's bond with Lily grew exponentially after she evolved and her psychic powers had more fully developed. They were now able to have more complex conversations with telepathy, but Kirlia had yet to develop linguistic skills and had to rely on telepathic images to convey her thoughts. The two were also more passively in-tune with each other's emotions and feelings and it became much harder for them to keep secrets. Kirlia evolved into Gardevoir six years later, when Lily came out to her parents as a lesbian and they grew extremely angry and violent. They kicked Kirlia away when she tried to get between them, but before they could put their hands on Lily she evolved and restrained them with her psychic powers. Gardevoir then barricaded them in Lily's bedroom and refused to allow the door to open for the rest of the night. That night Gardevoir started to fear her encroaching death and, in a desperate attempt to stave off mortality, formed a mating bond with Lily to tie their lifespans together. Travelling and Adult Life When Lily turned 19, she opted to leave home and go travelling, taking Gardevoir with her. While intending to go on the typical trainer journey, the pair ultimately did very little participation in the league. They only entered two tournaments, which they placed 4th in, and then traveled for the sake of travelling. This resulted in an extremely disparate power-gap between Gardevoir and Lily's other Pokemon, as the two fought fewer and fewer battles despite Lily's growing roster. Shortly into their journey, Lily tried to put Gardevoir into a Pokeball due to it being the custom, but Gardevoir expressed an extreme unwillingness to go into her ball and even a fear of the small device, prompting Lily to crush it. Lily later registered Gardevoir to a new ball Lily and Gardevoir entered the Hoenn and Unova Leagues, but lost in the Semi-Finals of both leagues as a result of Lily only using Gardevoir in League matches. In the Hoenn League, Gardevoir lost to Sheer Cold putting her into hypothermic shock, while in the Unova League she was disqualified after her use of prohibited moves (Crunch) resulted in the opposing Blaziken being permanently disabled and incapable of walking. Because of this, and previous instances of being unable to keep her brutality in check, Gardeovir was permanently banned from professional tournaments. The money Lily had earned was put toward a compound to house herself and her Pokemon, building special habitats for almost every Pokemon that spent a lot of time out of their ball. Gardevoir returned to living in the house, this time with her own room and bed. Domestic Life and League Enforcer Lily and Gardevoir lived together like roommates for years, the two taking full advantage of the space in the house to pursue their own interests without having to cram everything into one tiny room or a tent. The two worked as a pair of League Enforcers tracking down abusive trainers, until they were terminated after an incident where Gardevoir murdered another Gardevoir whose trainer was being arrested. While it is unknown what Lily does for work (or even if she does work) her and Gardevoir maintain a relatively comfortable domestic life, with Lily being able to afford caring for 27 of her 30 Pokemon as free range Pokemon. Mating Bond and Possessiveness Gardevoir eventually came clean to Lily about having formed a mating bond with her to keep herself alive 12 years previously, as well as having lied about companion bonds being able to extend a Gardevoir's life. Lily became immediately angry about this and yelled at Gardevoir about how much of a violation this was and how it was a betrayal of her trust and stormed off, screaming at Gardevoir through telepathy when she tries to follow her. After a talk with Mikaila that night, Lily goes to check on Gardevoir and tells her that she doesn't want her to go and that she's not sending her away, but that she is going to have to earn her trust and forgiveness before she'll be completely comfortable around her. Later, Lily was seen by Mikaila putting a lock on her door and explained that it was keep Gardevoir out. When told that Gardevoir can easily teleport in or break the door down, Lily remarked that it was symbolic and that if Gardevoir went into her bedroom then she would sever their mating bond. Gardevoir was present to hear this, and left. Mikaila spoke to Gardevoir and explained that she needed to understand why Lily was being so firm. Gardevoir remarked (via writing on paper) that Lily just threatened to kill her and she didn't have to understand anything. Mikaila realized just how callous her actions have become and went to talk to Lily, chewing her out for being cruel and manipulative. When Lily argued that Mikaila was being dramatic, Mikaila asked if this kind of guilt-laden hostility was something Lizzy would do. Lily remarked on the fact that Lizzy DID in fact do this and immediately came to the realization that she had gone too far. Lily apologized for her cruelty, saying that she hadn't been helping at all. Upon getting up to leave after receiving no response, she was stopped when Gardevoir grabbed her hand. Gardevoir asked if Lily hated her, and after a moment of shock at the question and G's distraught, tired face she hugged her and said she could never hate her. She then kissed Gardevoir's cheek and said they were okay, whereupon Gardevoir returned the hug. Later, Gardevoir's possessive behavior reached it's zenith when she started making violent threats toward a Ralts who was bonding to Lily, angrily yelling that Lily was her's when confronted. She later confessed to Lily that she had been in love with her for ten years and it was becoming a source of serious distress for her due to the avalanche of taunting from others. Lily reiterated that she would no longer tolerate anyone taunting her for her supposedly stereotypical behavior and that nothing would change between them. Physiology Gardevoir is considered to be the "Perfect Battle Specimen" as a result of having been raised by a breeder. She is strong, quick-witted, and her psychic powers are phenomenal. She is also immune to Pokerus and many other common illnesses that Gardevoir are known to suffer. This has caused her to experiment and branch out from the usual psychic abilities that Gardevoir develop and master several Dark and Ghost type moves that are considered unviable. Gardevoir has also successfully mastered creating and controlling a black hole. Personality Gardevoir is extremely snide and sarcastic, often roasting Lily or the other Pokemon. She's also prone to aggressive outbursts of anger, especially when antagonized. She is often compassionate toward the people she's close to, like Lily and Butterfree. She's also violently protective of Lily after repeated assaults and abuse, and since then Lily's mental and emotional well being has been a source of anxiety for her. Gardevoir considers herself lucky to have been given to Lily rather than someone with more nefarious intentions and regularly has bouts of severe anxiety and nightmares about what could have happened to her otherwise. She is also ashamed of herself for what she believes is her conforming to stereotypes about her species, a shame the projects outwardly toward other Gardevoir. Relationships Lily Orchard Gardevoir and Lily have been extremely close since they were very young and the two developed a psychic bond that became more powerful as Gardevoir evolved. The two are able to feel each other's emotions and communicate through telepathy as well as track each other. Currently there is no known limit on distance between them, their bond remains crystal clear regardless. Gardevoir and Lily were extremely affectionate until Mismagius started to taunt her over it, leading Gardevoir to start closing herself off from Lily. After being confronted about her unwillingness to Mega-Evolve, Lily put a stop to Mismagius' taunting and Gardevoir was able to be affectionate with her again. Her friendship with Lily was put under heavy strain when Gardevoir confessed that she formed a mating bond with her while she was sleeping to keep herself from dying, and Lily became extremely angry and hurt by the fact that she went behind her back and made hard decisions for her. They eventually came to an understanding, but the betrayal of trust put them at odds for a while. Gardevoir is extremely territorial around Lily, often growling at her guests and disliking her girlfriends, doubly so after Lily's abusive relationship ended. Her behavior can reach peaks of outright possessiveness at times, especially during periods of high stress. In Shame it was revealed that she has been deeply in love with her for ten years. Butterfree Butterfree is absolutely smitten with Gardevoir, feelings which she reciprocates. Currently they haven't done anything beyond occasionally spending time together. Gardevoir wears a Heart Scale in her hair that Butterfree gave her. Butterfree is one of the few people Gardevoir truly cherishes, along with Lily. She is extremely protective of the little bug and enjoys her eccentric antics. Mismagius Gardevoir despises Mismagius with every fibre of her being. As Mismagius is often taunting her for her affection toward Lily, she has been a source of extreme anxiety for her for several years. Trivia *Gardevoir is the only Pokemon on the compound that Lily doesn't legally own, as she belongs to Lily's mother. *Gardevoir knows several moves that Gardevoir are usually unable to learn such as Crunch and Shadow Claw. *It was revealed in the Mega-Evolution arc that stereotypes about Gardevoir trainers are something that has caused her a great deal of anxiety, and she worried for a while that Lily might be one of those kind of trainers before Lily assured her that wasn't the case.